Dreams of Heathens
by Potens Cogitatum
Summary: A series of dreams afflicts Matthew centering around Arcanus. As he starts to search them for meaning, he is dragged into a spiral of manipulation and madness he may never recover from. The first chapter is relatively clean, but is gets darker.
1. Chapter 1: Pleasant Dreams

Dreams of Heathens, A Golden Sun: Dark Dawn fanfiction

Part 1

The sound of thousands of gears grinding through millennia of unused reverberated through the chamber. Emergency lights flashed, staining the walls with their blood-red hue. The man looked right into my eyes; I could see both the calm, sky blue iris and the eye wrapped in shadow behind the mask. A slight smile danced on his lips and I knew exactly what he wanted to say to me.

"You look just like your father."

I opened my eyes, taking in the silence of the campsite, the cool night breeze flowing over the fields. The remnants of the dream, the memory, clung to my fingertips, wisps of smoke from the dying campfire. That man, Arcanus, Alex, had been wandering my dreams since I saw him last atop the Apollo lens. It must have some meaning. I remember my father's numerous tales of prophesies in dreams, and of Ivan, who's destiny had been set since the prophesy that occurred in his infancy. If these dreams hinted at the future, their secret eluded me, hiding behind the mask, behind the half smile.

This line of thought was foolish. Dreams and visions were the tools of Jupiter, airheaded foolishness easily dispelled by one whose feet were planted firmly in the ground. To cement this idea in my head, I decided that the best way to commune with the earth would be walking upon it, so I carefully stepped over the inert forms of Tyrell and Karis and walked into the night. At first, I meant only to wander aimlessly and reassure myself, but the cool caress of grass on my feet filled me with a desire to watch something grow.

Walking over to an oak bent with age, I placed a hand on its trunk and filled it with my mind. There was a creaking sigh of relief that permeated through the tree as the tendrils of my Psynergy rushed through it, reaching from root to leaf. With several sharp cracks, the old oak lifted from its defeated stoop and stood tall, unwavering in the wind. After inspecting my work carefully, I turned to leave, but was momentarily frozen by the sight of the figure behind me.

"You look just like your father," said Arcanus "I've wanted to talk to you for some time, but I could never seem to get you on your own."

My hand automatically danced to my waist, groping for the sword that lay beside my sleeping mat. I cursed my thoughtlessness and settled for launching a barrage of stone spires at him.

"Now now," Alex whispered "there's no need for you to fight."

How had he gotten behind me so quickly? Even after all of the battles I had fought, I was powerless, cornered in a single move. No, I wasn't finished yet, I couldn't let him scare me.

The grass at Arcanus' feet erupted into a writhing sea of thorn-covered vines. They sprung up and waved their spiked limbs wildly, searching for a target that was no longer there. I spun on the spot, trying desperately to spot him before he could counter, but all was silent in the night.

"Damn." I breathed, looking at the stillness all around me, starting to wonder if these dreams and fantasies had copulated and given birth to waking dreams. Could I be losing my grip on the ground and falling into the sea of stars above me? There had to be some proof. I stumbled about, looking in vain for a sign that my mind was not fleeing. There was no proof, not a bent blade of grass, nothing that suggested that anyone else had been here. Nothing but a dream.

The sky and the plains opened wide to the heavens, and I felt lost within them, within my head. I needed to think, to sleep, to escape, to run away, to fly away, to do something that would make this real. Sinking to my knees, I clutched my head, moaning 'I need to get away' again and again. This sudden bout of Agoraphobia was so great that I didn't notice the hands that slid around my chest until I was pulled away from the ground and into the sea of stars above me.


	2. Chapter 2: The Dream is a Nightmare

Part 2

Kicking and biting, I tried to break away from the man holding me. As we continued upwards, I felt as if I was losing something, something I'd always had, always taken for granted. The only time I had felt this before was when I was at sea, and even then it was a fleeting tremor, nothing in comparison to the destructive quakes I felt now. In response to this feeling, I renewed my struggles, trying to summon the Psynergy necessary to free myself. My attempts were wild, lacking the stability of mind needed for proper manipulation of the elements. I was trying to call power from the soil, the rocks, the trees, everything that I had left behind on the ground.

My struggles were met with no sound, no amused voice, just a sudden feeling of drowsiness, a feeling of falling-no we were flying, flying into the dark. I was in that darkness for what felt like a long time, it pressed on me from all sides and I rested in it, feeling safe from the sky and the stars, from dreams of masked men and from madness. It felt like a long time, but it ended all too soon.

The first thing I felt was the grass pressing against my face, grass and the dull roar of water falling in the distance. I slowly opened my eyes. Sol hung low in the sky, and beneath it sat Arcanus, staring into his palm with an expression that looked so different from his usual self-assured ambivalence that it took me a moment to be sure it was not a distortion of his image that my mind had somehow formed. His face was filled with apprehension bordering on fear. He looked at me, and his face changed suddenly and completely into the arrogant Alex that I knew. I knew that the other look I had seen was the first glimpse I had managed to get under his mask. The smiling face stood still and silent and I realized that he wanted me to speak first.

"Uh…," I began, not used to taking initiative in a conversation. My voice was steady and strong, which surprised me for a moment. I realized that Alex must have given me food and drink while I slept. It made so little sense, all of these things…hadn't I been fighting him? I might as well get some answers, "…Why am I still alive?"

"You are alive because you are the hammer that will smash the pillar that upholds my enemy."

Bastard. I'd be lucky if he told me anything. Whatever he wants with me, it's bound to be bad, I'd better start looking an opportunity to escape. Let's see…if I'm going to escape, I'm going to need to know_…_"Where are we?"

"This place has no name. It didn't exist until a couple of years ago. It's a small island, not yet in the sea."

Not yet in the sea? What could-…no…please don't let it be. I leapt to my feet and started running. Arcanus made no move to stop me, but returned his gaze to whatever was in his hand.

All was grass around me; there was not a single tree. After a hundred yards, I saw it. The edge of the island, a sudden drop off into the mist far below, the dull roar of Gaia Falls in the distance filled my head, blotting out thought and feeling, protecting me from the despair that would fling me into the mist and the emptiness. I stood at the edge in silence, trying to put off thinking for as long as I could, so only fragments of thought drifted through my mind.

Alex looked scared back there. The falls are so far-…no, focus on Alex. I've never seen him frightened before. Not even when he caused the eclipse. What would scare the man who fearlessly instigated a disaster like that?

The sound of Arcanus walking towards me brought my line of thought to ground, and shook off most of the numbness. I could see what he had been looking at in his open hand, a small crystal filled with a small amount of crimson liquid. He stared at it without a word, until I once again felt compelled to speak,

"What is that thing?" I asked, pointing to the crystal.

"This?" Alex asked, eyes widening with his smile, "This is a special item I got from a tribe in central Gondowan. It's the key element in the trial that occurs right before the appointment of a new high priest. When one bites down on the outer shell, it breaks apart and begins to absorb trace amounts of one's Psynergy and take on the physical aspects of the person's mind, essentially forming a very temporary copy of their identity. At the same time, the special substance inside is released, and begins to work almost immediately. When ingested, it drastically alters the mind, causing the entire web of memories, thoughts, and feelings that make up the sense of self to break down and disperse. In addition to being used by high priests, crippled warriors also drink it in a suicide ritual. The experience is described as an assimilation of everything. Even as your mind is being destroyed, the Psynergy stored in the crystals is leaking out and circulating through the body, replacing the broken web strand by strand. It breaks you apart and puts you together using the true essence of who you are." He was breathing heavily by the time he finished, and all the while he never stopped staring at the crystal.

"You're going to give that to me." It wasn't a question. I knew then that I was going to kill Alex the moment I had the chance. I couldn't let him torture me, or anyone else. Who did he think he was, trying to force someone else to break down?

"Yes."

"So you want to break me down and build me up." I decided that, before I killed him, I would feed the crystal to him so he could feel what he was imposing on me.

"No. I want to break you down and build a twisted Idol in its place. You see, the energy rebuilding you won't be your essence, it'll be mine."

Before I could comprehend his last statement, Alex tossed the crystal in his mouth and bit down, his face contorting in what could have been agony, or ecstasy. I stepped towards him, intent on destroying him before he revealed any other surprises. As my fingers neared his neck, Arcanus' eyes flashed and I found myself bound in a telekinetic vise. He looked at me and there was something in his eye I couldn't identify, then he thrust his face into mine. Too shocked to struggle, I didn't resist as his tongue shoved segments of crystal covered in the crimson down my throat. Breaking away, he held my jaw and nose shut until I swallowed, then released me so I could crumple, coughing, to the ground.

A giggle burst from his lips as he watched me, his smile tearing his face in two.

"I've experienced this once before and now we will experience it together." He declared before another fit of laughter forced itself out of him.

"You think so? Well, fuck you," I growled, then shoved my fingers down my throat, inducing a wave of nausea.

While I convulsed on the verge of vomiting Arcanus placed his hand on my elbow and shoved the remainder of my hand into my mouth. I jerked in surprise as my teeth tore bloody trenches in my hand and my fingernails stabbed the back of my throat. I writhed and twisted as my throat twitched and violently protested the invasion, but Alex's slim fingers were unstoppable as he steadily forced my hand farther down my throat. My heaving redoubled as bile leapt into my throat, around my hand, and into my nose, cutting off my tortured breaths completely. I looked at him, trying to find some hint of mercy, but found his face contorted into a grimace of rage without restraint.

"Don't you fuck me!" Alex shrieked, "I'll break you! I'll fuck you! I'll show you! I'll show all Weyard! I'll show you what I've seen!"

I was dying. Faintness competed with the pain for control of my mind. Tears streamed from my eyes, mixing with the sweat, blood, and bile that dripped from my chin. I was falling towards the darkness, reaching to embrace its warm security and womblike protection, then the world seized me once again when my arm was torn from my mouth. I Gasped for breath as I vomited, taking in as much vomit as air into my lungs, crying as life forced itself upon me.

"Shh…I know how you feel," Alex murmured, suddenly and completely tranquil "I know it hurts, but things can get better. I know-" he broke off and began to sob. Whatever that crystal had in it, it had taken effect on Alex. How long before it started on me? I heaved once again, then staggered to my feet and looked around.

Thousands of gears ground through millennia of stagnation and once-golden walls bathed in the blood of the emergency lights. There was a blue haired man crying on the ground, and I wanted to tell him how much he looked like his father.


End file.
